When shit goes bad, it's pretty normal for human-response to be to identify a person as the target or the villain and make them the face of the circumstance, whether rational or not. Just like in poker, where there is a hero, there is a villain. It's been pretty interesting to read all the blogs, posts, and articles documenting and sharing the thoughts by hundreds of FKAAOP (Formerly Known as an online pro). I've been amazed at the range of hate and who to blame.

Let's examine who some of the candidates and arguments/merits:

Daniel Tzvetkoff - The young hotshot multi-millionaire who apparently was a crucial mole in the uncovering of the processes used by the poker sites to facilitate funds. Rumored to have been making upwards of $150k a day when he worked with the poker rooms, he was eventually arrested and purportedly flipped. His detailed knowledge and intricate understanding of the poker site operations may have been key in the indictments that were handed down.

Barack Obama - He's the POTUS and oversees everything right? It's his government and he gets final say about all legislation handed down. That hypocritical and potentially Kenyan-born charmer who has expressed his like for the game of poker. How could he betray the millions of us who enjoyed the game? Seriously though, to blame him as the reason that we can't play online is quite ridiculous. As much as we want to pretend that ceasing of online poker is the end of the world, there are far bigger things for him to focus on. FWIW, he was born in Hawaii.

Vegas Casinos - Clearly these companies had the DoJ in their pockets the whole time. They have an obvious financial incentive to shut down Stars/FTP whether it be to enter the internet poker market themselves or to drive traffic and increase play at the Brick & Mortars. Rather than care about the growth of the game of poker, these scumbags are just looking out for the zeros in their bank accounts and the growth in their rake.

SW DoJ - This is a move towards politics. The lead attorney Preet Barara targeted these sites as a means to advance his own career. He really doesn't care but he knows that this will be a high-profile case with potentially billions at stake and it's the next step for him and his office to pad their resumes and build their legacy.

FTP/PS/AP - These guys knew it all along and didn't warn players. They willingly broke the rules and gave us, the poker player, no warning about what would happen or advice on how to keep our things safe. They did too little to help avoid this situation.

The Player - We willingly participated in a grey-area industry for hundreds and thousands of dollars. Despite warning signs like our cashouts coming from golf stores, we foolishly thought that the status-quo would live forever. We exposed ourselves to the danger of possibly having the doors closed and we didn't do enough to get it regulated/etc.

Did I miss anyone? I ask you, who do you think is the bad-guy?